Vegan Vegetarian Thanksgiving in Bethlehem

I know my last few posts have been about food. But hey, it plays a pretty important role in sustainability. What else connects the environment, our economy, and communities more than food? Nadda!

That’s why I’m proud to announce that ECO, Moravian’s Environmental Coalition will be having its annual Vegan & Vegetarian Thanksgiving again this year!

When: Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.

Where: The Marketplace in the HUB, Moravian College

Why: Because we’ve got a hankering for delicious food with minimal environmental impact.

Cost: just the price of getting into The Market Place (around $10) or “one swipe”. No additional moo-lah needed!

Last week Gina, the ECO president and I, sat down with HUB director Ann Clausento plan the event. None of us could recall how many years Vegan Vegetarian has under its belt. Quite a few.

For the most part, the event will be held the same way it has always been. The annex of the caf will be set aside for the event; a table will be set aside for ECO members and members of the Moravian community to bring their homemade vegan or vegetarian dishes. Like always, we hope to see a crowd of great people and a table full of delicious food.

Want to get involved? Here's how it works:

1. You pick a vegan or vegetarian recipe and tell ECO what ingredients you need.
2. Then, Sodexo, our food service, will go shopping with the grocery list we give them.
3. We'll give you the ingredients and cookware if you need it.
4. Then we all bring our dishes and enjoy!

This year, ECO hopes to bring together more of the Greater Lehigh Valley community. We’ll be inviting members of environmental clubs at other colleges as well as organizers and activists from around the Lehigh Valley.

Did my post about Vegan Treats have your mouth watering last time? Then come to Vegan Vegetarian Thanksgiving, we’l l have plenty of the eco-bakery’s goodies for you to sample.

Do you have to be vegan or vegetarian to come?

Certainly not! In fact, most of the organizers aren’t. And we hope meat lovers and veggie heads alike will join us. The point is to:

•      Raise awareness about how our food affects our environment and community
•      Reconsider what kind of food we want to purchase and consume, and
•      Challenge ourselves to remove meat from a traditional meal.

So now you’re wondering why ECO wants you to have a meal that's vegetarian, without meat, or vegan without any animal products. 

It turns out, animal products have a more negative impact on our environment and communities than plants.

• Animal Cruelty. I’m sure we’ve all seen something of PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) videos. The truth is; those factory farms are out there. And
  often we’d rather not know how the animal was treated before it hit our plate

Do you care, but you aren’t ready to give up meat? Eating at a place like Brew Works, that provides Free Bird chicken and locally sourced beef, is a great alternative to going cold turkey.

• Health Reasons. According to the American Dietetic Association, a vegetarian diet is associated with lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease, lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes when compared with a non-vegetarian diet.

I’m not a vegetarian. I love my lean protein—especially after a long hike. But I try to take this into account by monitoring my intake of meat, especially red meat.That’s where eating meat becomes much more environmentally impactful than plants; you always have to grow and process something to feed to meat and dairy animals.

•      Environmental Damage. I think we easily forget where our goods come from. If we eat a burger, we are essentially consuming all of the energy and waste necessary to keep that cow alive.

Consider, too all of the waste created from factory farms.

Often habitat is destroyed to put them up in the first place.

Maybe you’re like me and not ready to go all the way vegetarian. Or maybe you’re a vegan! Either way, I hope you consider where your food comes from and the impact it had.

And I really hope to see you at Vegan Vegetarian Thanksgiving!

Will you be there?